My cousin Mai is getting married next year (My first time to be a bridesmaid!) and she asked me to come with her to BHLDN to try on dresses. I had fun seeing her dress up, and the sales girl were super sweet- not pushy and very relaxed (made all the difference). She had me try on some silver Repetto flats and I was so tempted, but I left with a hair pin by Jennifer Behr to wear on the big day. Can’t wait, Mai!

Our friends Andrew and Bridget were married on April 30th. Imagination and care could be discerned in every facet of their wedding: the words, the prayers, the places, the songs. It was a triumph. As a bonus, we got to see many of our favorite people in one of our favorite cities.

Of course, I forgot the camera charger and used my phone as alternative for most of the trip. It ended working out. Enjoy!

BJ and I were fortunate to travel to Brooklyn over Labor Day weekend for our friends’, Cassie and Jamie’s, wedding. There was sunshine and breezes the whole time; I can’t remember when I last slept with the window open. I wish our trip had been much longer, but we squeezed in plenty of eating and visiting in those 2.5 days. After the beautiful ceremony and reception, the highlight of the trip was meeting our friends for brunch. These trips are also a little bittersweet because they are a reminder of how dispersed our old ND community is. So we live for these mini reunions.

I shot with an inexpensive film camera during our trip and will post them soon*, but this was the invitation cover BJ and I made for the couple.

Update: A few good pictures from the camera. I think I had the focus setting wrong so a lot were blurry.

* One of our bags was stolen on our last night, and I thought the pictures were lost forever, but Vanessa found it lying in a neighbor’s trashcan. Unbelievable!

We are overwhelmed with all the love, friends, laughter, family, dancing, food, and joy surrounding these last few days and feel so fortunate to have so many people celebrate and support us. THANK YOU. More pictures to come- we’re off to spend more time with everyone who is still here especially these kiddos. Cute overload.

I might have mentioned it before, but I was so relieved to get the dress out of the way early on. Luckily, the first one I tried on was just right. And I’m open to many different styles, but the vintage designs always caught my eye—especially the lace gowns below.

Anyway, I thought I was done but there was an issue about having my shoulders covered for the ceremony (one of the many different rules the church had). Although I’m probably not sneaky enough or would have wussed out, I thought I might wear my dress and try to bypass the rule by having my hair down. Well, I went to Neiman Marcus Last Call over the weekend and found an awesome lace dress by Marc Bouwer for a steal! Now I’m set for a ceremony dress. It sort of reminds me of the 60s and it’s in the exact style as the dress below but in cream with a light pink undertone. My mom wishes it were longer and I think it may surprise some of the older folks with how casual it is, but I really love it and it’ll work well with the hot hot weather in July. So everything surprisingly worked out and now I can concentrate on the many other items on our to do list. No more brainstorming for tear off shoulder covers!

I’m testing out decoration ideas with remnant fabric. Originally intended to be a garland, it can also work as a jump rope (I tested it out :)) They’re still works in progress, but I like where they are heading and they’re very relaxing to make. Maybe I’ll sew in a few brass bells to add some more whimsy.

It’s been a busy last couple of weeks for us, and there are lots more big decisions to make soon. We finally got our invites printed and they’re almost all out in the mail. Finally! BJ did all the lettering—his middle-school calligraphy lessons definitely (BJ: “finally”) came in handy! And the front was made with scanned paper cuts. More details soon once I find the files.

In other news, Lost is getting so good and I’ve been drinking one can of Coke a day. Sigh.

One of the perks of not living in a major city or a living on the outskirts of Houston is the fact that I don’t have wrestle other people or wait in long lines for Target collaborations. Of course I’ll take less sprawling strip malls and driving any day, but today I’m focusing on the positive :)

Ta-da! Look what got from Liberty of London for Target. Most of the pieces are gifts, but the tiered platters is going to make it into our reception somehow. My favorite print is on the ceramic jar. I got a little print happy and had to put a few items back like a floral silk tie for BJ. We’ll just have to go back and let him decide (and maybe pick up one or two more things!)

I’ve been thinking about what to get my wedding party, and I’ve had my eye on Odette for a while, especially this one for Trang. Another option was to make something with my new soldering torch, but, with school and other planning, I didn’t know if there would be enough time. Just my luck, Gilt Fuse featured Odette today and the sweet deals allowed me to pick up something for almost all of my girls.

Sometimes I wished I lived in New York so I could take classes like these.